A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial in a defamation suit voiding the $3.6 million award to a man who maintained that a sheriff libeled him and a friend in fliers before a run-off election in 2000. The fliers said the two friends were criminals. The criminal charge, later dropped, stemmed from an arrest for allegedly working on a construction site without a permit.
The appeals court ruled that the majority of the fliers were protected by the First Amendment so the new trial will determine if any damages are merited by the remaining ones. -db
From the Forsyth News, May 23, 2011, by Julie Arrington.